Machaquila

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Machaquila is a major ruined city of the Maya civilization in what is now the El Peten department of Guatemala.LocationThe ruins of Machaquila fall within the municipality of Poptún, in the Petén department of Guatemala. It is approximately 90km west of the town of Poptún, and 80km southeast of Sayaxché. Machaquila is situated on the banks of the lower Machaquila River, which is a major tributary of the Pasión River. The site is in a relatively isolated region. During the Classic period, the city s location would have placed it upon a trade route running from the Maya Mountains in the east to the Pasión River in the west, and ultimately to the Usumacinta River. Machaquila is 30km southeast of the contemporary Maya site of Seibal.The site core containing the city s monumental architecture is protected, but under threat from occupation by landless peasants. The surrounding area, where the majority of the residential architecture is located, falls within privately owned farmland.PolityMachaquila shared a pared Emblem Glyph with Cancuen, probably suggesting some form of joint rule and participation in a larger polity that included both cities. A proposal that Machaquila, Cancuen, and Tres Islas participated in a form of government that involved the transference of the status of capital from one city to the next has not been universally accepted.